Chapter 59
As I carried the four bowls of noodles out one by one, the twins' room door remained tightly shut. I stared at the door, unable to understand why I, who had cooked, was also the one serving the food.
But let's eat first. I'm really hungry. Gu Xinglian didn't treat me to a meal, and I feel bad letting him. It's unnecessary. Even the best of friends need to be clear about money.
"And then you just ate it like that?" Qingyu composed herself and, as usual, pulled out a chair and sat down as if she were the owner. "Without even looking at me?"
I still didn't look at him. Hua followed behind You, stealing glances at me furtively. I looked at You, my eyes asking if he hadn't explained things clearly to the other person.
“Don’t worry,” he added, “I have explained it to him in detail: he just doesn’t understand because he is too stubborn.”
Hua immediately tried to kick You away. You, no longer one to back down, threw him back onto the seat: "If you don't want to eat, get out."
Hua looked at me pitifully.
I was a little surprised; I'm not the type to swear. He smiled at me: "But during our conversations, I kept thinking that perhaps being too direct might be more effective in educating you. Would you agree with me doing that?"
I shook my head: "Do whatever you want. As long as you don't fight at home."
I'd only eaten half of the bland noodles when my hunger subsided, and I could only listlessly nibble at them: "What were you guys talking about in there?"
"Let's talk about how we're going to live our lives," Qingyu said nonchalantly. "I don't really care that much if you have someone else outside. But we can't do that at home; they have to find a place to live outside..."
I ignored his words and gestured for the two children to speak. He'd talked to me too many times today, so Hua stepped in: "We discussed how to apologize to you." He bit his chopsticks. "Then we realized we should work even harder to create value for you. So we won't use your money anymore, and we'll regularly deposit money into your account."
My turn. I said sternly, "What kind of weird stuff are you thinking about now?"
I casually put my chopsticks aside and didn't eat the rest of the food. As for Qingyu secretly moving the bowls and chopsticks, I completely pretended not to see it.
“I don’t need you to repay me, I don’t need you to do anything for me. It’s my choice to let you live here. If you think I’m not happy, then you can move out now.”
They didn't dare to speak; Qingyu was eating my leftovers. Does he eat that much?
—I didn't finish my own.
"Who are you going to leave your leftovers for?" I asked angrily. Of course, I can eat my own leftovers as long as they're not spoiled. What does he mean by leaving them? Wasting food?
"I never said I couldn't finish it," Qingyu pouted. "Besides, I can take it home. Can't I stand your leftovers? Why are you picking on me like this? Don't you like me?"
"What if I get hungry again?"
"Then you can eat mine." He casually pushed his bowl in front of me. "I left all the toppings on, so it'll be nutritious for you. Eat up."
The fox didn't seem to have been educated by modern society either. My authority had been challenged. Just as I was about to speak, the fox changed the subject: "Aren't you going to ask them how they attacked?"
Those monsters. They all looked furious, but their eyes were fixed on Qingyu.
I hesitated for a moment: "You lured them out?"
"I hope the child won't inherit the mother's intelligence," Qingyu said calmly, a hint of unease flashing across her face. "It's a leak in the heavens."
I know about the leak in the sky; Mo Huaizhen told me about it. Although the sky is round, it has four important corners, which are very fragile and must be guarded constantly. In the east there is a dragon, in the west a sheep, in the south a snake, and in the north a fox. In the center is the Teng Turtle, a creature that roams the land, sea, and air. A leak in the sky means that one of these corners has collapsed, or that the guardian animal is no longer there.
I asked, puzzled, "Did your people run away?"
"More or less," Qingyu said vaguely. "I only found out when I saw these spirits... 'monsters.' This place is closest to the north. They carry the aura of the north. I've been away from my clan for many years, and this is how I reconnected with them."
“The more important issue is not here,” he said solemnly. “All the animals ‘guarding’ are aging at a visible rate and will soon die. This has been recorded in ancient books, but no one expected it to happen now, so there is a lack of preparation, and I’m afraid some will escape from all over the place.”
"Is there infighting going on? Is your plan to succeed each other based on age and skill level? Are there people who are unwilling to accept this?"
"Yes. They want to enjoy life and don't want to face death, so they'll prolong it as long as possible."
I was speechless. The destiny that Qingyu had described to me was so clearly presented before my eyes.
"Brother Qinghe, he's a fox too," she whispered to me, "He's just watching from here."
"Don't try to shift the blame." Qingyu rolled her eyes. "I've protected the house well. It's rare to find a house that's completely unaffected. The fact that Qinghe didn't notice anything wrong when he came back is the best proof of my efforts."
"That's the only thing you did right." Hua Nanru and I were on the same side again. "Whenever something happens, you call Qinghe, making him go through all that trouble to come back. What else can you do besides cause trouble for people?"
Qingyu was utterly astonished, pointing at herself incredulously and saying, "What are you talking about? I indirectly saved you and you're not even grateful?"
An argument was about to erupt.
Could it be because foxes are canines? Just like the different body language of cats and dogs, there are also huge differences between foxes and cats? I pondered to myself. I really didn't want to wait until the end and have them all yell "Qinghe, say something!" anymore. Anyway, we'd all finished eating, so I wanted to get everyone out of there before things got out of hand.
"You guys, wash the dishes," I commanded. "You, come with me."
Qingyu glanced smugly at the two children and put his arm around my shoulder. I was used to physical contact, so I flicked his fingers a couple of times and warned, "Don't touch my neck."
"That's not my fault," he said, feeling quite aggrieved. "Why are you pinning it on me?"
I ignored him. Being affected isn't a foolproof excuse. Standing at my doorstep, I scrutinized him: "Aren't you going to show your face?"
"Oh, you noticed that too?" He smiled, his eyes narrowing. "You're so smart. It's not a big deal that I inherited your intelligence."
His original makeup was quite glamorous.
A slight upward curve at the corner of her eye, and a thin, pale golden line drawn down between her brows, almost invisible. This also balances the red on either side: the dots on either side of the vertical line are slightly thinner than the fluffy tail, like two petals supporting the dignified stamen in the center.
There are small red dots in the middle of the current area. This breaks the overall symmetry; the red on one side represents tears, and the red on the other side represents flowers.
"How is it? Does it look good?" He looked at me. "Doesn't it look like a monster that will drain your life force?"
I asked him, "Do white foxes also inhale gunpowder?"
"Why do you always want to know more? Fine, fine. It's because I like you." Qingyu chuckled twice, unusually putting away her frivolous demeanor, and finally said to me, "Even if you know these truths, don't be afraid of me. There are many more 'secrets,' and I can tell you them all if you're willing."
"You must believe my 'fox's' 'secret'."
His vertical pupils were round.
I smiled but didn't respond to his comment.
Before he left, I asked again, "Do you want your people, those souls you once knew, to no longer suffer and worry about things they don't want to do?"
Qingyu's expression shifted. He slowly left me, replying as he went, but his words were only ambiguous.
"Everyone has their own destiny. Can my wishes change even the slightest bit? Mind your own business."
"You can't forget our promise to meet tomorrow, not even once."
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